Derry City vs Galway United: League of Ireland Premier Division Preview
In a crucial League of Ireland Premier Division encounter, Derry City will host Galway United at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium on Friday. According to Sports Mole, the two teams are separated by just three points in the bottom half of the table, with Derry City currently occupying sixth spot and Galway United seventh.
Derry City have experienced a dip in form recently, with back-to-back defeats to Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians. The Candystripes had previously enjoyed a strong May, recording three straight victories to sit second in the table on 26 points from their first 15 outings. However, they have managed to add just one more point to their tally in three further attempts, courtesy of a 1-1 draw away at Drogheda United. As Sports Mole reports, Derry City manager Tiernan Lynch will be eager to see his team bounce back from their recent struggles.
Their visitors, Galway United, have also endured a tough run of form, but have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks. A victory in late April saw them move up to second spot in the table on 20 points from their first 12 outings, but they would go on to suffer four straight defeats. However, John Caulfield’s side ended that rut with a 2-1 win over Cork City, courtesy of a Conor McCormack goal in the 84th minute. They then visited league leaders Shamrock Rovers and secured a creditable goalless draw.
In terms of team news, Derry City will likely be without defenders Shane Ferguson and Ben Doherty, who were forced off with injuries last time out against Bohemians. Cameron Dummigan and Sadou Diallo also remain confined to the treatment room. Robbie Benson will miss out after being sent off in the final 10 minutes of the loss to Bohemians, while Ronan Boyce should take Ferguson’s starting spot in defence. As Sports Mole notes, Gavin Whyte, Patrick Hoban, and Liam Boyce will all compete for attacking spots after Danny Mullen operated as a lone striker last time out.
Galway United will likely remain without midfielder Jimmy Keohane, who has been confined to the treatment room since mid-April. John Caulfield may field an unchanged starting XI from their draw against Shamrock Rovers, with Rob Slevin and Garry Buckley continuing their centre-back pairing after that clean sheet. Moses Dyer will continue to lead the line, having netted a league-high tally of nine goals so far this season.
In their previous encounters, Derry City have enjoyed a strong record against Galway United. However, Sports Mole believes that the hosts should have the quality to get back to winning ways on Friday. The preview experts have predicted a 2-1 win for Derry City, with a probability of 53.06% for a home win.
The most likely scoreline for a Derry City win is 1-0 with a probability of 14.07%, while the next most likely scorelines for that outcome are 2-0 (10.75%) and 2-1 (9.21%). The likeliest drawn scoreline is 1-1 (12.06%), while for a Galway United win it is 0-1 (7.9%). These predictions and more can be found on Sports Mole.
Derry City possible starting lineup: Maher; R Boyce, Cann, Connolly, Holt, Todd; O’Reilly, Winchester, McMullan; Mullen, L Boyce
Galway United possible starting lineup: Watts; Esua, Buckley, Slevin, Cunningham; Borden, Byrne, Hickey; Hurley, Dyer, McCarthy
Ultimately, it remains to be seen how the two teams will line up and which team will emerge victorious. One thing is certain, however: this encounter promises to be an exciting and closely contested match in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
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